Jackie Jones
Say Hello to Zoe Steinfield: Affirmations' Openly Transgender Full-Time Behavioral Health Program Manager
Zoe Steinfield, an openly transgender queer woman, has joined the Affirmations team as the LGBTQ+ community center's first full-time behavioral health program manager. "It's kind of a dream come true to work as a clinical social worker in a [...]
Meet Reginald Hawkins: Wayne State Student By Day, Pop Artist By Night
Ferndale Pride performer and Detroit-based Reginald Hawkins is living a double life. By day, they're a college student worrying about a looming lab deadline. By night, they're becoming a pop and dance music sensation, expressing their gender [...]
A Queer Detroit Homecoming: Motor City Pride Was Where 'Everybody Was So Happy to Come Together Again'
Being at Motor City Pride for many over the weekend was like coming home. After a 15-month wait due to COVID, Michigan's LGBTQ+ community members came out in droves from throughout the state to attend the event at Hart Plaza. According to Dave Wait, [...]
Equality Michigan Urges LGBTQ+ Community to Get Involved in State Redistricting Effort
Erin Knott, Equality Michigan's executive director, is calling for more LGBTQ+ voices in the state's "once in a decade" redistricting opportunity. Every 10 years, states get the opportunity to redistrict their maps – to create boundaries that [...]
From Homelessness to Motor City Pride Headliner: J. Santino Shares His Inspiring Survivor Story
When Jay-Z's grandmother says "I was served lemons, but I made lemonade" on Beyoncé's "Lemonade," she could've been talking about J. Santino, a Detroit-based Motor City Pride headliner. For years, the 23-year-old pop artist has been mixing, raging [...]
What to Expect from Motor City Pride's In-Person Event in the COVID Age
After the long COVID months and virtual Pride events, Motor City Pride is finally upon us. But planning this year's event has been, as you can imagine, a bit different than previous years. "More stressful with great anticipation," to be exact, [...]
Flint Author's Debut Book Captures 'the Beauty and Pain of Being Black' While Deconstructing Black Stereotypes
Through his use of colloquialism and allusions, Flint poet Jonah Mixon-Webster ruminates on Black societal confines with "Stereo(TYPE)." Originally released in 2018, the second edition of his debut poetry collection, available through Penguin Random [...]
These Portraits of (Literal) Gay Daddies Will Brighten Your Day
In an ode to gay fatherhood, photographer Bart Heynen gifts intimate, cute and loving portraits of more than 40 families in his photography book "Dads." "So, I'm a gay father myself," says Heynen. "I found myself raising my boys without [...]
LGBTQ Victory Fund Campaign Is Focused on Keeping Queer Neighborhoods in Michigan Together
Redistricting to align with the new U.S. Census results has become a hot-button political issue for a host of reasons. The way states redraw their maps will have lasting consequences for voters and communities at large. That's why LGBTQ Victory Fund [...]
Howell Loses, Fair Michigan Wins After City Ousts Drag Queen Bingo Show from Melon Fest
Remember that drag queen bingo event in Howell? The one Meghan Reckling, a 36-year-old Michigan Senate aide and chair of the Livingston County Republican Party, tried to ban from the Howell Melon Festival? Well, it didn't happen. A drag show did [...]
An Interview with SAGE's New Executive Director Angela Gabridge (Exclusive)
After a national search, SAGE Metro Detroit welcomes its new executive director, Angela Gabridge. Gabridge, an LGBTQ+ ally, has an extensive career in human services and social justice, making her an ideal candidate to succeed former executive [...]
He Showed Me What True Love Is': Paul Jonte-Crane Remembers His Late Husband George, a PRISM Men's Chorus Member
The LGBTQ+ community lost a local legend when George Jonte-Crane passed away after a short battle with esophageal cancer on Aug. 3 at age 72. "We were called half the Beatles because we were George and Paul," says his husband Paul [...]